My Master (intersex x woman)

Chapter 10 - Surprise Visit

Three months passed by in the blink of an eye. Emily walked bare foot through the grass that lay neatly outside the east wing. The freshly cut blades tickling the skin of her toes. It was something she'd learned to enjoy doing over the months on her own. The only human interaction she'd get was when the maids brought her food and clean linen.

The blonde had long accepted her uncertain fate and learned to love the solitude. At first it was scary, spending nights on end alone, at one point she'd even become manic. Talking to herself, laughing wildly at her own jokes and her own thoughts; then finally acceptance came.

Emily realized that the castle was so large that it was like she no longer existed in the royal family's world. She had no idea what happened in the main house anymore and no idea what had become of anyone she'd grown accustomed to either. She'd taken advantage of the bit of freedom and started wondering outside.

The blonde would spend hours reading under the shade of a tree, or simply listening to the birds sing sweet songs to her. From what she'd gathered, the east wing was the least guarded area—but there were still guards. They manned the walled fence of the castle, taking shifts at different ends of the huge wall. She'd made notes on their shifts and patterns, but nothing ever stayed the same. It was never enough time or space for her to make a run for it and the frustration threatened to drive the woman mad.

Admittedly, it was still the hardest three months she'd ever experienced. Being alone with her thoughts forced her to come to terms with everything that happened following her being snatched from her home—from her family. She'd mourned the loss of everything she considered to be normal as she was chucked into the world of supernatural beings and all the drama that went with it.

She could only assume that Annabelle's absence meant the woman still didn't believe the child was hers, and at that point Emily could care less about what she thought. Her once flat tummy now wore a visible bump. She went through most of the changes on her own—the morning sickness, the cravings, the high emotions, she'd faced it all on her own.

Emily caught glimpses of dark shadows that lurked outside the castle, possibly creating chaos for everyone in the main house. For some reason, they never ventured to the east wing. She did find that strange, but didn't question what she considered to be one of the good things that happened as a result of being in the East Wing. She no longer had to deal with gruesome battles, or fearing of being attacked—the shadows never came near her. It made her think that perhaps they were simply only after Annabelle all along.

One night, she'd heard the most haunting screams echoing through the castle. It made the woman check the locks and struggle to drag a chair across the door's threshold. She didn't sleep for days after, her mind reeling with thoughts of what could be happening.

Emily sighed, leaning her back against the base of her favorite tree. The grass beneath her was worn from repeatedly sitting in the same spot every day. She flipped the novel open to where she'd left off but after only a few minutes of rereading the same page, slammed it shut. As the days flew by, she'd become more and more exhausted. Hardly being able to keep her eyes open, she'd begun to worry about having narcolepsy.

The blonde closed her eyes, the sounds of nature guiding her into a deep slumber.

Gasping, her eyes flew open. She was under water, arms moving back and forth treading lightly. Emily could feel the wetness of the water, cold and real against her skin. She was never the best swimmer but she kicked her legs and propelled herself to the surface of the water. It was bright, too bright. She could only see a few yards ahead of herself and from what she saw, there was no land in sight. Emily felt panic set in at the thought of being stranded in the middle of an ocean. Something solid poked at her back. The blonde spun to face a raft. Her heart raced the realisation that the raft hadn't been there a few seconds ago.